Welding electrode and method of making same



Jane 10.1924. 1,496,930

W. H. FLQOD ET AL WELDING ELECTRODE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAHE Filed Feb. '7 1922 INVENTOR WALTEEH. FLOOD.

. Y v po/mwzsnouz ATTORII I Patented June 10,

WELDING ELECTRODE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

To all whom it may Application filed February 7, 1922. Serial No. 584,808.-

Be it known that we, WALTER HERBERT FLoon and'DoNALn TRENTHAM SMoUT, subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at 56 Lucien Road,

175 Clive Road, Wes

Tooting, London, and t Dulwich, London, re-

spectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Welding Electrodes and- Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to an electrode particularly adapted for electric arc welding,

cutting and the like.

the art of electric 5 temperature of the It is well known in arc welding that the electrode either at the are or in close proximity thereto is an important'factor in the efiicient and proper deposition of the we] 1f the electric current is d metal. For example,

adjusted to produce a good weld in the beginning of the weld ing operation, as the work proceeds,

the temperature of the wire gradually increases according to welding electrode and the overheated, with the result several reasons, such and splashlng,

the C? R losses in the latter becomes thatowing to as excessive oxidation the metal deposited toward the end of the operation is burned and the weld is of inferior quality.

e have found that one of the said above drawbacks is due to the fact that the welding electrodes heretofore vused have been made of metal having a substantially uniform cross-section area throughout their length and our present invention consists in making the welding electrode of increasing cross-section toward the electrode holder and whereby the effect of increasing temperature, hereinabove referred to, is counteracted, so that the temperature of the mm is more 11 stant throughout the whole welding operb ation.

Our investigations early maintained confurther indicate that the maintenance of the welding electrode at as nearly a constant temperature as possible, is also important from another point of view and that is, we have found that in I order to ciently, the electrode center than at the tends to set up the globule contained in performthe electric welding effishould be hotter at its outer surface, as this formation of amolten a solid electrode metal the operation a short'.distance awa cient welding this solid crater should be as 1 well defined as possible during the whole welding operation, and that, consequently the .temperature of the solid metal of the electrode as it gradually reaches the arc, is an important factor, hence a number of advantages are derived from the use of a tapered electrode. Some of these advantages are enumerated as follows:

First: A higher current density is obtained at the starting end of'the electrode which" "quickly raises its temperature and makes easier starting of the are. This is highly advantageous in difiicult places, such as encountered in corners and overhead welding.

Second: the arc in the beginning can be obtained without overheating the electrode farther up toward the handle.

Third: As the work gets hotter, more metal can be deposited and this is supplied a by the increasing size of the electrode as the same is melted down into the work, the are becoming less concentrated and the rate of deposit becoming somewhat greater. This'may becalled mass action; that is to say, as the work gets hotter, more metal isadded by the increasing size of electrode, thereby tending to reduce the temperature of the work; or in other words, as the work tends to get hotter, the greater amount of metal added, tends to reduce the temperature with the general result of approaching a more uniform temperature.

Fourth: Up to the present time it has een customary for many welders, when commencing to deposit metal in order to form a joint between two pieces, to start from the actual spot where the joint shou (1 commence. This is done for the reason that when commencing the operation, the electrode metal and the work metal are cold and it is necessary for the arc to be in operation a short period'of time before a sufficiently large puddle has been formed in the metal of the work to accommodate the metal The right amount of heat at;

deposited from the electrode. We have found that by using a tapered electrode as herein described, this bad condition is eliminated, which may be explained by the fact 'that when the tapered electrode is used, the arc is concentrated over a smaller area of work than it is in a case where the tip of the electrode ends in a larger cross-sectional area. I a

Further advantages will be apparent to one skilled in the art after a study of .this specification and the drawing annexed thereto.

To illustrate our invention we have shown m- Figure 1 a diagrammatic illustration of our tapered electrode;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of an electrode having a partial coating. 'By partial coating we mean one which extends only a part of the way around the periphery of the electrode throughout a greater part of the length. There is a bare side throughout the length of the rod for assisting in striking an are.

In Figure 3 we having a. coating all the way around periphery;

While in Figure 4 we its have shown our tapered electrode havmg a tapered covering.

In the drawings, 1 illustrates a metal portion of the electrode and 2 represents the covering when such covering is used.

In Figure 4 the'tapered covering is preferably left bare at one end for the urpose of strikin the arc, while at the ot er end 3 it is left liare for a distance sufiicient to attach the weldinghandle thereto. The advantages of a tapered coating on an electrode of. uniform cross-sectional area are well set forth .in patent application S. N. 344,646 filed December 13, 1919 by Claude J. Holslag, but when this tapered covering is used with our ta ered electrode, still greater advantages are 0 tained, for this additional thicker coating at the small end of the electrode raises the potential across the arc and" this increase in the potential together with the greater heating of the electrode due to the smaller cross section, of" starting the arc.

Our tapered electrode may be manufacby electrically heating a length of wire secured by suitable clampsat the ends and then pulling the wire which causesthe same to taper from the center toward the ends on account of the center getting the hottest. After the wire has been thus stretched it is cut in two, thus forming two electrodes. This latter process produces annealed electrodes which are trodes having advantageous for certain classes of work;.

while the swaging process {produces electheouter skin harder thanthe it has certain advantages in interior, -wh1 have shown an electrode increases the ease that the outer hard skin has an effect similar to a coating; that is to say, it serves to' help direct the molten metal toward the proper point in the work; in other words, a squirting action is obtained. 1

Our invention is, of course, clearly applicable to bare electrodes as well as those being wholly or partially or other types of coatin s. of taper of'the electro e may be varie suit conditions and we, therefore, do not wish to belimited to any definite degree of taper or to any kind of a coating to be used on the electrode. c

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

l. A welding metal rod larger at one other.

2. A welding electrode consisting of a metal rod havmg a substantially uniform taper from end to end.

Also the de ree to electrode consisting of a end than at the covered with flux 3. A welding electrode consisting of a metal rod having an appreciable taper from one end to the other.

4. An electrode for electric are cutting and welding comprising a rod of current conducting material having the surface of the conducting material tapering from a by a holder to thearc electrode and thinner at the larger end.

thereof.

7. A welding electrode consisting of a metal rod having a bod portion tapering from one end to the ot er and a coating tapering in thickness in inverse .order from said body portion of therod.

8. An electrode, for electric arc welding and cutting, having a bodyl portion smaller at the arc end than at the o der end, and a partial coating thicker at the smaller end of the electrode and thinner at the larger end thereof.

9.' A welding metal rod having a, body portion tapering from one end to the other and a partial coating .tapering in thickness in inverse order from said body portion of the rod.

10. In an electric are cutting and welding system, means for obtaining a higher current densit at starting ofthe arc, including *an electr e of current conducting material smaller in cross section at the arc end and gradually increasing in cross section toward the part engaged by an electrode holder.

electrode consisting of a Ill 11. In an electric are cutting and welding system, means for obtaining the proper heat at the are without overheating the electrode toward its holder, including an electrode of current conducting material smaller in cross section at the arc end and gradually increas ing in cross section toward the part engaged by an electrode holder.

12. In an electric arc welding system, means for increasing the metal deposited as the work gets hotter, including an electrode of current conducting material smaller in cross section at the arc end and gradually,

increasing in cross section toward the part engaged by an electrode holder.

13. In an electric arc welding system, means for concentrating the are at starting,

including an electrode of current conducting material smaller in cross section at the arc end and gradually increasing in cross section toward the part engaged by an electrode holder.

14. In an electric arc weldin system, means tending to effect easy starting of the arc, including an electrode of current conducting material smaller in cross section at the arc end and radually increasing in cross section towarf the part engaged by an electrode holder.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our signatures this 16th day of January, 1922.

WALTER HERBERT FLOOD. DQNALD TRENTHAM SMOUT. 

